Vermont - Fall 2019

I went east past Montreal (stopping to get some shots of St. Joseph's Oratory prior to the multi-year renovations that will be happening on the dome) to get to Danville for the snow geese migration. I was too early, but I had a nice poutine and got to go to a local winery so it wasn't a total loss. At the border the guy seemed to be trying to catch professional photographers that probably need a work permit to photograph the fall colours. Anyway, I was unlucky with the weather at the beginning as a storm had gone through the northeastern area the day before and the leaves had fallen. Then it rained for an entire day the next day. But after that I had great weather and fall colours. I was expecting more scenic overlooks on the side of the highway but most of them involve steep hikes. In Montpelier I would highly recommend Bohemian Bakery and in Island Pond I would highly recommend Jesse's Little Kitchen. Something I wouldn't recommend is the overly touristy areas around Stowe; tour buses, line-ups/crowds, high prices. The backroads and other small towns are much more enjoyable. It was always surprising how small the towns and cities are, and how short the driving distances are. I wineries were just ok, although the whites and sweet reds were nice. Careful bringing wine back across the border; I went through the small crossing above Lake Champlain and I had to pay duty on 1.5 bottles (I had a half bottle). I had heard they won't bother if you're not over the limit too much. On $23US of wine I had to pay $25CDN in charges! Maybe try a bigger crossing, or maybe don't cross at Quebec.